EASTERN EUROPE 1939-1941
1939-1941
1939
1941
http://www.learningcurve.gov.uk/worldwarII/
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EASTERN EUROPE 1939-1941
Transcript (1939-1941)
0:00
From 1936 onwards Hitler had steadily expanded Germany's borders to
take over neighbouring regions and countries with German speaking
populations.
In August 1939 Hitler signed the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact with
Josef Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. This meant the two countries
would agree not to attack each other. They also agreed, in secret, to
divide Poland between them and for the next 18 months the nonaggression pact held between the two countries.
0:30
On September 1st German troops invaded Poland from the west and on
September 17th the forces of the Soviet Union invaded from the East.
Poland was soon divided between these two giants.
By 1941 Hitler was in control of most of western Europe. He now felt
sufficiently confident enough to pursue his policy of eastwards
expansion to create "Lebensraum" or "Livingspace" by invading the
Soviet Union and building a German empire in Eastern Europe.
1:00
Hitler's armies attacked the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa from
22nd June 1941. Stalin was taken by surprise as Hitler's forces swept
into the USSR and devastated the Soviet forces. The plan was to divide
the Soviet Red Army into two groups and encircle them before they
could withdraw deeper into the Soviet Union.
1:23
German advances were swift during the summer and The Red Army lost
huge numbers of tanks and aircraft and suffered around 4 million
casualties.
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EASTERN EUROPE 1939-1941
1:31
By September 1941 German forces had surrounded Leningrad and were not
far from the Soviet capital of Moscow.
In the south, over half a million Soviet troops were trapped near Kiev
and when Hitler's troops advanced on Moscow in October Stalin
seriously considered surrendering.
1:49
Hitler was delighted with his victories, however, the German forces
were hampered by poor supply networks and had underestimated the
determination of Soviet troops who managed to withdraw into the
heartland of Russia. Moscow and Leningrad were stubbornly defended and
as winter set in The Red Army began a series of counter-attacks.
2:08
As the extreme cold of the Russian winter hampered the German advance
Hitler sacked his three army group commanders and assumed direct
command of the campaign. His troops were ordered to dig in and form
defensive "hedgehog" formations. Meanwhile superhuman efforts by
Soviet troops and civilian workers meant that by the spring of 1942
the Red Army was ready to fight.
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